Real Estate Floor Plans

Why Get a Floor Plan?

Selling and buying a home and moving are often listed as some of the most stressful things you can do in life. Also, there are huge financial aspects to consider, not to mention the sheer amount of time that goes into real estate.

If you are buying, you are having to use your time and your agents time driving around from house to house, not to mention all the time staring at pictures in the MLS and looking at room size listings that don't give an actual feel for the house and what those dimensions mean in real life, not to mention wondering if the photographers lens is distorting a room to make it look larger than it is.

If you are selling, then you not only are often having to also look for another house (and have the above time usage), but you also have to make sure your house is clean for any open houses or viewings, and then have to be out of your house on a days notice. And if you have kids, the complexity of having to keep the house clean and looking it's best while also having places to take them becomes even more of an expensive proposition.

The reality is, no one wants to waste time, because time is money, and no one ever seems to have enough time. As a buyer, you don't want to go to a ton of houses that you realize in seconds upon walking in that it won't fit your needs. And for all the houses claiming to have open floor plans, it would be nice to know what that meant in this case, plus to see what room sizes mean and how the pictures you see on the MLS or a brochure actually fit together. In a world where most people are web based and searching more and more online, being able to see as much of a house before setting foot in it is valuable, and can save you a lot of time even looking at listings. For people selling, you want people coming in who know the house will work for them, or are at least actually interested in it, so you are out of the house less and don't have to have the house spotless every hour of every day.

This is where the importance of floor plans comes into play. Almost everyone these days recommends professional photography, because the little investment of money often pays huge dividends on how people view the worth of your house. So it is becoming with floor plans, as this tool that used to be relegated to the largest of houses comes into the mainstream and lets people get a clear concept of the house before ever entering into it, which benefits everyone. They enhance listings enormously, and a buyer is more likely to appreciate the fact that a seller was open and up front about what the house actually looked like, and how it flows.

This is where Eclectic Services & Production fits in. We can provide you with the floor plan you need, and in about as much time as it takes for you to get the images from the photographer. They enhance brochures and make a listing pop. They are a sound investment for your time, and your money, and that means everything in a time crunched world.

Square Footage Measurement Methodology

There are several, and somewhat competing, standards that can be used for measuring square footage for a house. While floor plans typically only show the size of the rooms themselves, and not the calculated floor and building square footage, these items are still checked when making the floor plans to assist the realtors.

For floor plans we measure, we obey the ANSI standard: ANSI Z765-2003. This standard has the following rules:

• Includes wall space, so all measurements are done from the exterior of the building for the baseline square footage. For townhouses and duplexes where a wall is shared, the measurement is from the centerline of the wall.
• Only areas that are finished like the rest of the house are included, and must be climate controlled. So attics, garages, and seasonal rooms are excluded.
• The stairs are included on each floor that they are on.
• Any openings in the floor (such as overlooks, balcony areas, etc) are excluded.
• Only rooms with at least a 7' ceiling are included. The ceiling may be lower than that under obstructions and under stairs. If a ceiling is sloped, over half of that room must be over 7'. Any part of the room with less than a 5' ceiling is excluded.
• If a finished area is connected to the house by an unfinished area on the same floor are excluded.
• Below and above grade are designated separately, and in cases where the land is sloped, the top of the slope where it connects to the house is the grade level.
• Chimneys and other protrusions that do not have an outlet on the same level (so a fireplace for example) are excluded (so a fireplace with a chimney counts on the first floor, the chimney must be deducted for the second floor).
• All measurements are done to the nearest inch or tenth of a foot. Square footage is to the nearest whole square foot.

Using this as our baseline ensure consistent and accurate information for realtors and their clients, and makes sure that they know precisely the how the information was calculated.